The Detroit Lions are 7-1 after a 24-14 win over the Packers in week 9 and have won 6 straight games. And since their week 5 bye they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 154-66. They have 3 double digit wins their past 4 games with two of those wins being by 38 points. This is without a doubt one of the most complete rosters in all of football and if the past few weeks have proven anything – they are the best team in the NFC – and I don’t think it’s particularly close. And because of this – the NFC runs through the motor city. This has been a long road over the past few years to get to where they are now – but the Lions are 7-1 for the first time since the 1950’s. And despite them being 7-1 – they haven’t played their best offensively over the past two games – yet outscored their opponents 76 – 28 in the last two games. And it’s obviously not because their offense isn’t good of course – it’s because they haven’t had to beat teams the way we know they can. And I think that makes the Lions even scarier. Knowing they can put up a flurry of points and it doesn’t need rely solely on Jared Goff, or Jahmyr Gibbs, – or whoever. This team is downright scary. And in today’s video we’re going to breakdown why the NFC runs through Detroit, and discuss other contending teams in the NFC. Now let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by breaking down what makes the lions so good – and the answer is – pretty much everything. Losing a player like Aidan Hutchinson would have bene detrimental for a lot of teams and don’t get me wrong – the Lions are certainly feeling the loss of Hutch – as every team would – but they are doing fine without him. And the big thing that has to be remembered even with losing. Hutch is – as long as the defense holds the opponent to under 24 points – the Lions are going to win most games. Amon-Ra St Brown is a very good player and he had over 110 receptions for over 1,500 yards and double digit touchdowns in 2023 – yet has just 464 receiving yards through the first 8 games of the 2024 season. That’s no slight at Amon Ra – or to say he’s fallen off a cliff – it’s just hard to get the football in an offense that has playmakers everywhere. Jameson Williams has also taken a step this year which has been nice to see and Sam LaPorta is a very good tight end too.
Like with Amon Ra – Sam LaPorta’s stats are not what they were in 2023 because the offense is so diverse and they haven’t had to rely on him as much as LaPorta fantasy owners would have liked through the first 8 games. And it also hurts both Amon Ra and Laporta’s numbers when Jared Goff cumulatively has 230 passing yards total in the last two game – because every other part of the team was doing their job and then some. What also gets lost in the Lions beating teams the way they have recently – is they are top 4 in the league in turnovers on both sides of the ball. They have a +11 turnover margin just 8 games into the season and 2 of their 5 turnovers came in the Bucs back in week 2. And every team has a bad game here or there – it’s a part of football and no team is perfect. But the Lions more than doubled Tampa’s yardage in that game as they outgunned them 463 to 216 and that was a very rare game where the Lions had a couple of mental miscues. They had a too many men on the field penalty to end the first half in Tampa’s red zone – which certainly left points on the board – and later in the game – Jared Goff threw an interception in the 4th quarter in Tampa territory. Those are the two main reasons as to why the Lions are not 8-0. And one of the biggest reasons why the NFC runs through Detroit is – teams know they have to play near perfect to beat this team.
And even in the week 7 game against Minnesota – the Lions basically spotted the Vikings 10 points in the first 5 minutes of the game – yet came back and beat them. This included multiple 30+ yard touchdowns from the Lions and the Vikings big break in this game was a defensive touchdown by Ivan Pace – but I thought the Lions handled this game a lot better than a mere 2 point win would suggest. And to go back to the teams having to play near perfect to beat them point – every NFL team knows this. And you can almost see teams start to press once they get down and their backs are against the wall. Good teams take advantage of opportunities and I don’t know if there’s a team that represents taking advantage of opportunities more than the Lions. There’s no stat to show this – but when the Lions create a turnover defensively – it’s almost like the entire team gets an energy boost and you can see the team get energized from the turnover and get ready to go score a touchdown with any of their 5 offensive playmakers – in Gibbs, Montgomery, St Brown, Williams, or LaPorta. And as if having those guys isn’t enough – they also have one of the best offensive lines in football which is led by Penei Sewell. Penei is only 24 years old and is already a 2 time pro bowler and I don’t think this should be a hot take – but if he stays healthy – he is definitely on a hall of fame trajectory. He was a once every few year offensive tackle prospect and he plays like it every Sunday
There’s a couple other reasons why I believe the NFC runs through the motor city and it’s not just because the Lions are a great team. Other teams across the conference are having down years and the San Francisco 49ers are a good example. The 49ers are 4-4 and I don’t think anybody would deny that they have the potential to be a great team – but they’ve had a lot of unfortunate things happen to them throughout the first few months of the year – that I personally think their chances of winning a Super Bowl – at least with this current roster are over. Now I do want to clarify that the Lions were my preseason pick to go to the Super Bowl before the season started – but the 49ers having Dre Greenlaw out for most of the year, Javon Hargrave having a season ending injury, Christian McCaffrey not playing at all through 8 games, Brandon Aiyuk tearing his ACL and the list goes on – competitively helps the Lions and other teams in the conference. Every team of course has to deal with injuries some more than others – but this really put the 49ers behind the 8 ball and keep in mind – they already have 4 losses. They also have a handful of difficult games down the stretch of the year like at Green Bay, at Buffalo, and even home against the Lions – and for me to really buy in with the 49ers and to think they have any chance of beating the Lions in the playoffs for the second straight year – which required a lot for them to beat them just once – I think the game would have to be played in San Francisco.
And that almost require the Lions to lose 4 more games down the stretch and for the 49ers to get the number one seed in the conference – and I don’t think that’s going to happen. And the 49ers would be down both Javon Hargrave and Brandon Aiyuk if they went to Detroit in the playoffs and to beat this team – you can’t be down two of your best players on the road in a hostile environment with the season on the line. And in some ways I think the 49ers are done – unless they do not have to encounter the Lions in the postseason – which is seemingly impossible. I don’t see anybody going into Detroit and winning in the postseason – and I do think this team will be the number one seed in the conference – which goes back to the point – of the NFC runs through the motor city. Going into Detroit is already a tough place to play – but one team I think could cause some problems for the Lions – is the Green Bay Packers. I know the Lions just beat the Packers – and by double digits – but I don’t think you can automatically assume division games are done and that nobody stands a chance. These teams know each other well and I think it is worth nothing Green Bay was not close to healthy in this game and especially their quarterback Jordan Love. Now just because I think the Packers could give them a game in January – does not mean I would pick Green Bay to win – because I wouldn’t.
I would pick Detroit to beat Green Bay especially if the game was played at Ford Field – but I don’t think it’s an easy win by any means. The big thing for Green Bay that concerns me – whether they are playing the Lions, or the worst team in the league – is you never know when Jordan Love is going to have a bad play that could potentially cost you the game. And while I think Jordan is a very very talented player – it is extremely frustrating knowing there’s a Brett Favre esque play in him at seemingly any point. Again I do think the Lions would win, but the Packers have a very good defense and they have forced 19 turnovers in 9 games and have 7 games where they’ve forced multiple turnovers – and I think they will be a tough out in January.
The Detroit Lions are without a doubt one of the best teams in the NFL. Personally, I think they are the best team in the NFL. Everything in this article and more is broken down in the video below. I hope you enjoy!
